And So It Begins
by Dr.RyRy
Summary: Bullworth Academy gains a new student, Daniel St. James, only having received Jimmy Hopkins the day before. As Daniel tries to make new friends, avoid making enemies, and maybe find a bit of romance too, Gary's nefarious plans are at work, and he even plots to use Daniel some how. Rated M for later chapters, will contain homosexual relationships, and based on Scholarship Edition
1. Chapter 1

**22.07.12 -** Well, I finally got around to making the first chapter of this.

Hopefully it's something decent, that you'll want me to carry on, but if not, at least I tried.

Anyway, read, I really hope you like it.

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My name is Daniel St. James, and I am stood at the gates of Bullworth Academy.

The cab ride was awkward, to say the least. The driver was uninterested in me, so long as he was paid. I didn't mind. Talking to strangers wasn't something I did often. I just sat in the back, listening to the music on my phone as I tried to bottle the nerves that were inside me, threatening to spill out onto the cab floor. I looked out the window, taking in the sights of Bullworth Vale. I smiled as I saw the pier, jutting out to stand over the freezing September water, which lapped gently at the sand below. I imagined it must be nice in the summer months.

Looking out the other side, I saw shops, the kind that sold things you would expect to be sold in a town like this; groceries, clothes, a number of cafes, a barber. There was even a bike shop, and a cinema, which were luxurious for such a small town. As the car turned onto a bridge, I could see the tall building of the school looming. I swallowed dryly as the cab came to a halt outside the gates. I got out, retrieved my suitcase from the trunk, and handed the driver his money. Before he'd sped off, I could've sworn I heard him say "Good luck, kid." I hoped I wouldn't need it.

I was somewhat upset that neither of my parents had been able to bring me here personally, but they were busy people, and it hadn't been the first time they couldn't be around because of work.

I stared up at the gates, which were a good couple of metres high, topped with spikes. The gates were covered with a huge stone archway, atop which sat an ugly, winged gargoyle, and under it were the words "Bullworth Academy".

A faint tapping noise made me look down, and I saw a middle-aged woman walking towards me, with brown hair, pearl earrings, and wearing a suit, matching mini-skirt and heels, all in black. As she got closer, the gates slowly opened, and she stepped out to meet me.

"I'm Miss Danvers. You must be Daniel?" she asked, looking down at me. "Welcome to Bullworth Academy, your new home." She said, giving off an air of grandness about the whole situation. "Now, come with me, boy, I don't have all day. You need to meet with Dr. Crabblesnitch" I had to suppress my laughter at the name. "who will explain to you how things are done here. He's a busy man, so you'll need to hurry."

"Yes, ma'am." I answered politely, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and starting to pull it behind me, its small wheels clicking annoyingly on the stone tiles. As I walked behind her, I took a quick look around, taking note of the two buildings to my sides. Both had paths leading under an arch, the left saying "Boys Dorm", the right saying "Girls Dorm". A man, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, was sweeping up nearby and Miss Danvers stuck out her hand, signalling me to stop, before shouting to him.

"Dennis! Come here!" she yelled, making the man look up and walk over. He looked somewhat annoyed that his work had been interrupted, but nonetheless smiled at Miss Danvers. "Daniel, this is Mr. Luntz, he runs the school shop, and is the school's Sanitation Engineer." She explained to me, and I gave him a small wave. "Mr. Luntz, take Daniel's case to the Boys Dorm." She ordered, and he took the handle from me, muttering something about not being their slave as he did so. "Come along, boy." She barked, and I followed her once more. I wished she would stop calling me boy. I was only 15.

Taking another quick moment to look around, I noticed that the grounds around the school were deserted. Not a single other student was in sight. '_Maybe they're all in classes?_' I thought, as Miss Danvers led me into the school building.

Even the inside was empty, aside from men in blue blazers walking up and down the corridors.

"Those are the prefects." Miss Danvers commented, noticing me looking at them. "If they find you out of class when you shouldn't be, they will take you there, by force, if necessary, and if they see you causing trouble, they will take you straight to Dr. Crabblesnitch's office." She explained, before looking over her shoulder at me. "So don't cause trouble." She said, her eyes sharpening into a fierce glare.

'_If looks could kill._'

I followed her up a flight of stairs, and into an office, where she knocked lightly on a door leading into another room

"Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she called, her voice taking on a newfound tone of sweetness. "There's a student here to see you." She added, glaring at me once more.

"It's not that Hopkins boy again, is it?" a voice called from inside the room.

"No, no, this is the _other_ new student; Daniel St. James." she replied, still using that sickeningly sweet tone. '_Other new student?_' I took solace in the fact that there was another new student, and hoped that wasn't where the commonalities would end.

"Right, Miss Danvers. Send him in." the voice said. I quickly flattened down my hair, and tried to flatten out any wrinkles in my shirt.

"In you go, boy, don't keep Dr. Crabblesnitch waiting." Came Miss Danvers' harsh voice. I took a final, calming breath before pushing the door open and walking into the room.

The walls were covered with bookshelves, and black and white pictures of men, presumably head teachers of times gone by. There was a large, elegant fireplace against one wall, atop which sat a large, stuffed eagle. In front of the fireplace was a solid oak desk, with a lamp and some papers on. Behind the desk, sat a stern-looking man, with greying hair, who looked to be in his late fifties.

"You must be our new student, St. James, is it?" he asked, as I stepped forward, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk

"Yes, sir, that's me." I replied. He looked surprised that I had called him sir, but carried on nevertheless.

"I remember hearing about your… situation. You've had a rough time of late, it seems." I nodded, agreeing with him. He stood from his cushy armchair, picked up a piece of paper, and started to pace from side to side in front of the fireplace. "It says here you had to leave your last three schools due to severe homophobic bullying, yes?" I nodded again.

I had transferred out of my last three schools, because people kept bullying me for being gay. It wasn't like I just woke up one morning and thought "I'm going to piss everyone off by liking boys.", I just wasn't attracted to girls like I was to guys. But the people in those schools had thought that it wasn't something I should like.

The first school was just lots of people, picking on me constantly, the pressure just building, and building until I had a breakdown in the middle of a maths lesson. But it wasn't until the fourth episode that the teachers thought I'd be better off somewhere else.

But the second school was no better. These kids were violent. I missed two months of education, because some students took it upon themselves to try and "beat the gay" out of me, breaking my leg in the process.

While in hospital, I was transferred again. While the kids here weren't as violent as the last, they would still shove and punch me when they could. It got so bad, that… and I'm not proud to admit it, but I almost attempted to kill myself. But my friends, they talked me out of it, made me realise I'd be hurting more people than I'd be helping. The friends that I left behind, after my parents decided to send me here.

And here I was.

Dr. Crabblesnitch kept reading over the paper in his hand, glancing at me from time to time while he read. Eventually, he set the paper back down, and looked at me. "Well, St. James, I'll tell you now, that regardless of the reason, the prefects and staff here at Bullworth all take bullying very seriously. While I can't promise you that you will be accepted by every student, I can promise that if you're bullied, it _will_ be dealt with." I allowed myself to smile, despite taking only little security in that fact.

"We have some of the worst students around, so naturally, some may pick on you, but Bullworth prides itself on having students with clean noses," the phrase was lost on me, as I assumed that there was a flu-bug sweeping the school. "and we'll expect no less of you. You _will_ have a clean nose, or it shall be cleaned for you." He locked eyes with me, silent for a moment before looking to the door. "Miss Danvers?" he called, summoning the woman to the door.

"Yes, Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she simpered, smiling sweetly at the man.

"Could you please show St. James here to the Boys Dorm?" he asked.

"Of course, headmaster." She said, before turning to glare at me once more. "Hurry up, boy." She said, having lost that sweet tone that seemed only for Dr. Crabblesnitch. I rose from my chair, and offered my hand out to Dr. Crabblesnitch.

"Thank you, sir." I said as he took my hand, and shook it firmly. I then followed Miss Danvers out of the study, where she vaguely explained where the Boys Dorm was, and that she didn't have time to take me there herself, as she was to deal with "that naughty Hopkins boy" again.

Maybe this Hopkins kid wasn't someone I wanted to get along with after all.

Luckily, I remembered passing the Boys Dorm on the way in, so was happy to make my way there without her… '_pleasant_' company.

I took a step out of the office, and a bell rang, doors flying open as students bustled into the corridors. A very large, tall student was about to walk into me, if he hadn't stuck his arm out, grabbed me and practically flung me out of the way, sending me crashing back into a wall, yelling something along the lines of "Russell need to pee."

As I sank down the wall, and more students passed me, some looking at me as if I were diseased, I sighed quietly.

Maybe I would get used to it eventually, but already I could tell, this was _not_ your average school.

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So, what did you think?

Please, let me know what you thought with a review, I really do appreciate them, and I make sure to reply to them all in the intro of the next chapter.

If you'd like to check out anything else I've written, you're more than welcome to go to my profile and have a read of either "Being a Friend" - A Doctor Who love story involving the Doctor and Rory, or "Punch and Drarry" - A Harry Potter one-shot story involving Harry and Draco.

If you've come this far, thank you so much for sticking with it, you're now one of my favourite people. :)

Until next time,

~ RyRy


	2. Chapter 2

**17.04.13 - **So, yeah, I finally wrote this. I got inspired to write some more of this the other day, and this is pretty much a couple evenings worth of writing, so hopefully it's all right. I've been itching to play the game for a while, but I thought I would see if I could get this done first.

Seeing as I'm getting to play with many more characters than in either of my other stories, I'm trying to be really careful not to stray out of character, so if I have done, let me know.

Anyway, it's time for my **Reviewer Replies!** I actually got a couple for this, so I'm happy. :)

**MiYaHi:** Yeah, sorry about that, but I didn't want to upset two lots of people with my sketchy updates on two stories. But I think I am going to try and work on both simultaneously, which I'm sure will go horribly wrong. Is it really that interesting to see? Don't tell me I'm the first to write a gay male OC? Because if I'm the benchmark, everything else will be better. Does being "stood at the gates of Bullworth Academy" really not make sense? It does to me, but maybe that's just me. It could be language thing, as I'm pretty sure in English (UK), that's a sentence that works. ._. Oh, yes, if Bully 2 ever happens, please give the boys at least more than one kissing animation, and perhaps a little more than kissing, pls?

**muscles:** Well, here's another chapter for you, so hopefully you like it.

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The boys' dormitory didn't look like much from the outside. It looked to be in a state of disrepair, as there was a piece of wood to cover up a broken window, graffiti all over the walls, and there was even a student in a leather jacket throwing eggs at the wall. Considering I had to hand over $5 to some guy in a white shirt just to leave the main building, I didn't hold out much hope for the inside of the dorm being great.

And I was right not to. There was more graffiti on the walls, the sofa in the lounge room was covered in holes, and the smell was kind of off-putting. But it was when I saw the rats running across the floor that I felt like I was going to heave.

I swallowed back the nausea and found my bedroom. I pushed the door open and was greeted by the sight of a small brown-haired lad in just his boxers. He turned and caught my eye, we let out synchronised AH!'s, and I quickly shut the door. '_I knew I should've knocked._' I waited outside the door until the redness in my face passed before knocking on the door.

"Uh, come in." I heard the boy say in a small voice, and I slowly walked back into the room, with a hand over my eyes.

"I am so sorry about just barging in like that, I didn't realise someone would be in here." I said, hoping it would make up for bursting into the room while he was doing whatever one would be doing in their boxers.

"It's okay, man. And I'm decent now, so you're free to look around." The boy said, his voice sounding friendly. Maybe I'd be able to make a friend before the day was out. I dropped my hand and gave the boy a smile. He looked to be about the same age as me, and the colour of his eyes matched that of his hair. He was now dressed in a pink shirt with a navy-blue Bullworth sweater vest, and brown school trousers. "I'm Pete Kowalski." He said, walking over and extending his hand to me. "You must be the new kid? Danny, isn't it?" I took the hand and shook it, smiling.

"Yeah, Daniel St. James, that's me." I dropped his hand and raised an eyebrow at him. "Y'know, I think you're the first student I've met here who hasn't either verbally or physically abused me yet." Pete gave a small laugh.

"Probably the only too, unless Jimmy takes a shine to you."

"Jimmy?"

"The new kid who started yesterday. He'll be glad to be rid of that title already. He seems nice enough, I guess, but Gary's already trying to take him under his wing." I didn't need to ask who Gary was, as almost as if on cue, the door flew open, and a somewhat tall, slim boy with short brown hair and a scar in the middle of his right eyebrow stepped into the room. He wore a teal sweater vest, grey shirt and grey school trousers, and had an air of arrogance about him. He sauntered over to Pete with his hands on his hips, and roughly threw an arm around the small boy's shoulders

"You didn't tell me you were getting a roomie, Petey." He grinned at me, eyes looking up and down, as if he were trying to assess me. "I'll have to try not to wake him up when I sneak in for our late night loving." His voice took on a growl, as he pulled Pete in front of him – and to my, and Pete's, surprise – he bent his head down and bit Pete's neck as he squeezed the boy against him, even going as far as to move a hand to squeeze at Pete's crotch.

Pete's face went a deep shade of red as he bit his lip, face screwing up at the boy's attack. My own eyebrows had shot up at least an inch as I watched what was happening in front of me, and I felt compelled to look away from the intimate scene. The tall boy's eyes opened to look at me, gauging my reaction before he released Pete's neck from his mouth, and moved it to his ear. "Although, judging from the fact he can't stop looking at us, maybe he'll want to join in?" His smirk was practically dripping with something I couldn't quite register, but he quickly took his arms from around Pete and pushed him across the room, luckily to land on one of the beds. Pete rolled over onto his back and sat up, looking at the other boy, but not meeting his eyes.

"Get lost, Gary." He said in a small voice. It was clear that failing to stand up to Gary was something that Pete did often, as Gary brushed off the remark and began stepping towards me.

"So, are you here to make an honest woman out of Petey, or are you just going to use him for your sick little games like the jocks do?" I barely had a second to respond before he had turned away and walked towards Pete, who was now back on his feet. "Because if you harm a hair on my precious Petey's head, so help me, I will..." he paused for a moment, before he jabbed Pete hard in the stomach with his fist, the blow winding Pete and knocking him to the floor.

As Pete lay struggling to catch his breath, Gary laughed maliciously. "Oh, Femme-boy, when will you grow a back bone?" He sneered down at Pete. He turned on his heel and waved his hand as if he were brushing Pete away and began to head for the door, pausing as he passed me. "Where are my manners?" he asked as he put out his hand towards me. "I've not introduced myself. I'm Gary." The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile as he could see me deciding whether or not I wanted to touch him. After a moment, I finally took his hand, which locked onto mine with a vice-like grip.

"Daniel." I said through gritted teeth.

"Good to meet you, friend." He grinned, finally letting go of my hand. "It's time I went to see how Jimmy's doing. I hear he beat the crap out of Davis earlier." He chuckled, sounding like he knew more than he was letting on, and gave a short wave before walking out of the room. As the door slowly swung shut, I waved my hand, trying to rid it of the pain. I gave my fingers a flex before remembering Pete was laid out on the floor. I helped him to his feet, finding him as light as he looked.

"Is he always so friendly?" I asked as Pete sat down, lifting his shirt to assess the damage to his stomach.

"He's gotten kinda riled up recently. Thinks Jimmy can help him take over the school or something." He lowered his shirt, folding his arms over his stomach. I sat down next to him and rubbed his back. "But yeah, he's like this a lot. Towards me, at least." After a couple minutes, Pete seemed to relax, and he gave me a small smile. "Is it bad that I'm surprised you haven't hit me yet?"

"Yes." I said with a small laugh as I stood and walked over to the other bed, and pulled my suitcase up onto it. "I'm not a violent person. And even if I was, I've got no reason to hit you." I opened the suitcase to put everything into the wardrobe, and found my own uniform already hanging inside. '_Guess I should change._' I kicked my shoes off and put them at the bottom of the wardrobe before starting to pull off my _Kingdom Hearts_ tee. I could practically hear Pete's heart rate triple, and I looked at him with a grin. "Feel free to look away if you want." I said, politely turning my back to him.

Folding it up, I heard an "Uh..." from across the room, and the sound of shuffling feet as Pete turned to have his back to me. Just as I'd gotten my black jeans off, leaving me stood in a pair of navy blue boxer-briefs, Pete cleared his throat.

"Was… Ah, I mean… Was Gary right?" I pulled on the brown trousers and turned to Pete as I buckled my belt.

"About…?"

"About you… About what he said about you?" I watched his hands fiddling awkwardly with each other behind his back, and let out a tiny sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. I knew he was referring to my sexuality. As it happened, Pete mentioning it then made me realise how easily Gary had noticed, or at least made a lucky guess.

I sat on the edge of the bed. "Is that a problem?" I asked, placing the shirt down next to me and holding my head in my hands.

"Oh, no, it's not that, I mean, that's fine, I just..." I had glanced over my shoulder to see Pete turn to look at me. "I just didn't want to assume on something Gary had said. He comes out with some real crap sometimes." He gave a small laugh, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. It was comforting to know that I'd already found someone who wasn't bothered by having a gay friend, let alone a gay roommate. "I mean, hey, maybe we can go shopping or something, and you could help me pick out clothes?" He laughed again.

"I'm gay, Pete," I said, looking deadpan. "not a 14-year-old girl." Pete looked almost upset at what he'd said, but he relaxed as I cracked a smile and laughed. "There's only one thing you should assume about gay men, Pete, and that's that we like dick. Other than that, assume nothing."

"Thanks for the tip." Pete grinned as I buttoned up the crisp while shirt. Rolling the sleeves up to my elbows before pulling on the navy blue sweater vest, I glanced at myself in the mirror.

It was hardly a flattering uniform, but then again, it probably wasn't designed to be. "I'll get used to it." I muttered to myself, turning to Pete with a smile. "Fancy giving me a half-decent tour of the place? Miss Danvers _tried_, but I'm using that term very loosely." Pete nodded and walked for the door.

"You're ready to be unimpressed, right?" He asked, holding open the door.

"I'm pretty sure my opinion of this place can only go up."

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**17.04.13 - **I hope that wasn't too crap. :/

If my Bully urges continue, I'll probably play the game and write a bit more of this, but I won't say expect Chapter 3 in the near future, because that would be a lie.

Just don't expect it, okay? If it happens, let it be a happy surprise.

Anyway, let me know what you thought, and I'll do my best to get Chapter 3 up before Christmas.

Until next time,

~ RyRy


	3. Chapter 3

**21.04.13 -** Well, I really did not expect to have the third chapter done by now. Plus, I've already got my plan for the fourth, so I've just go to do the writing-up part of that.

Anyway, hopefully this is a good chapter, I'm happy with it, and as always, I'm hoping that I'm not straying out of character too badly at any point.

And now it's time for the **Reviewer Replies!** ... there's only one? Oh, okay. I mean, it's time for the **Reviewer Reply!**

**v4mp:** I can imagine that breed of OC getting tiring after a while. I guess I really am breaking the mould here. :) Having been 15 and gay myself, it gives me a good angle to write from with very little room for inaccuracies. Some may call that cheating, I call it using what I have at my disposal. I like my reason more. :3 Hopefully you like this new chapter, and thank you for reading.

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Pete and I left the boys' dormitory after a quick look around the lounge room. Aside from a crappy quality television, a poker table and an out-of-order arcade game, there wasn't a great deal to see. As we made our way towards the main building, I took a look towards the girls' dormitory, and noticed it seemed to be in a much better state than that of the boys'. "Yeah, the school seems to care more about the girls being comfortable than us." Pete commented, noticing where I was looking. "It's all nice and tidy in there, and there are a couple of teachers inside looking after them all."

"You've been inside? I would've thought boys wouldn't be allowed in." I queried.

"They're not. But Gary dragged me along with him one time. And then he locked me inside a cupboard. Ms. Philips, the Art teacher," he added for my benefit upon seeing my confused look at the name. "found me, and was nice enough to let me explain what happened. She's one of the nicer teachers in the school. If Mrs. Peabody had found me, I dread to think what she would've done." He almost shuddered at the thought, but managed to suppress it. "Anyway, there's more to see, and we've got about an hour until first classes start."

Pete took me around to the left of the main building, and pointed out the Library to me. He told me that was where the nerds hung out, and started to go on, but I cut him off, telling him he wouldn't need to explain that to me, and that I would probably visit it before long to check out what sort of books they had lying around. I followed Pete around to the back, and we stopped at the fountain to sit for a moment. The statue of a bull holding a football looked dull and unclean, and in dire need of a good scrub.

Hearing Pete's voice again brought my attention back to him. "Down there, is Harrington House." Pete said, pointing over to the tall building with a dome on the roof. "There's where all the preps hang out. Down there," he pointed in the opposite direction. "is the Auto-shop. You'll usually find the greasers around there."

"Preps? Greasers?" I was confused. None of these terms had come up before in the school's I'd been to before. Realising that made me think about how different this school really was.

"The preps are all upper class and a bit of a snotty bunch. They all wear those blue checked sweaters, see?" he pointed to a tall, strongly-built lad with red hair. "That's Bif. He and all the other preps seem to have a passion for boxing. I'm not sure why, though. Anyway, the greasers all wear leather jackets, that's the easiest way to recognise that lot." I thought back to when I saw a boy in a leather jacket throwing eggs at the boys' dorm, and put two and two together.

Pete gestured behind us, and I turned, seeing a pair of buildings either side of a path that led down to a large field. "The gym's down there. There's a sports hall in one, and a pool in the other. That's the football field right down at the bottom. The jocks run that part of the school." Now that was a term I did know. I saw a tall, muscular guy in a varsity jacket punch a lanky black guy in a green sweater, and quickly decided I would only be going down there when absolutely necessary.

Pete stood and I followed, as he led me around to the other side of the main school building, revealing a large, nigh empty parking lot. "If the teachers drive in, they park here. And once you get a bike from somewhere, you can leave it in the garage over there." He pointed over towards the red door. Unsure how I'd get my hands on a bike, I didn't worry too much about remembering that. A group of boys in white shirts were playing with a couple of footballs, showing off to each other with keepy-uppies, and heading them back and forth.

"Those are the bullies." Pete whispered, not wanting to talk loud enough to garner their attention. "I'd suggest staying away from those guys." I nodded, recognising one of them as the guy who had knocked me over earlier outside Dr. Crabblesnitch's office.

"Is that one Russell?" I asked, pointing to the aforementioned building with feet.

"Yep. He's the boss of the bullies, so try hard not to get on his bad side. Which could be difficult seeing as nearly everyone is on his bad side." Pete turned away to walk around to the front of the building, and I would've followed if I hadn't heard one of the bullies talking. I wasn't sure what was said, but I saw him about to kick a football right in Pete's direction.

As the ball took flight, I instinctively ran the short distance to Pete and, putting my arms around his slender frame, pulled him out of the ball's path. It didn't go quite so perfectly though, as I tripped over one of Pete's feet and fell, bringing him down with me. "Whoa. Thanks, Daniel."

"'Danny's fine." I smiled as we stood up, while the bullies were laughing.

"Oh, look, Petey's _boyfriend_ saved him!" sneered a spotty, brown-haired boy with a black eye – the one who had kicked the ball. I was unsure whether he said it because he knew I was gay or because Pete was wearing a pink shirt, but either way, it pissed me off.

"I'd rather have Pete for a boyfriend than you." I called back, crossing my arms over my chest. "At least with Pete, I wouldn't get genital warts." I knew I should've kept my mouth shut when I saw his grin fade, and a look of fury appear.

"I'll turn you into a wart, you little brat." He growled as he started to run for us, a blonde and light-brown haired pair of boys soon following him.

"Let's go!" Pete said, grabbing my arm as we began to run away. Pete ran slightly ahead, and I followed, as he led us around to the front of the school, and up the stairs to go inside. Entering the building, Pete darted quickly to the right, and into a toilet at the end of the hall. I'd only just gotten through the toilet door as the bullies came through the main door. '_Man, those guys are slow_.' Just in case we had been seen, we both hid in the same cubicle – the other was out-of-order – and locked the door.

Pete took the seat, and I quickly told him to lift up his feet, as it would look weird if there were two pairs of feet in one cubicle. He did as I said, and then we waited for about five minutes before I peeked out. The coast was clear, and we both left the cubicle.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked, sounding kind of shy. I wasn't sure what he meant until I remembered saying that I would rather have him for a boyfriend over the guy with the black eye.

"From what I can tell, you're a nice guy, and he's a prick. So, yeah." I smiled as I noticed he seemed to be very lightly blushing. "Don't worry, that wasn't me asking you out on a date. Not yet, at least." We both smiled, and left the toilets, and with only two minutes before classes began, Pete quickly showed me where each of the classrooms were, and then the cafeteria.

"You think you'll be able to get to your classes without me? I don't think we've got many together." A quick comparison of our timetables showed that we only shared three of our classes, Biology, Gym and Music. Pete frowned, and I had to admit, I was disappointed to know that I'd be surrounded by strangers in all but three of my classes.

Pete looked back to my first lesson of the day, and smiled. "Lucky you, you've got Art first thing. If you're a good artist, Ms. Philips will love you, and even if you're not, she'll be happy to help." He said, and I gave a mental sigh of relief. "You remember where the Art room is, right?" he said, starting to head off to his own class.

"Yeah, I think so." I smiled. "And thanks for the tour. Way better than Miss Danvers' attempt." We smiled to each other as the shrill sound of the bell rang through the building.

"See you at lunch." Pete said with a wave as he turned a corner and disappeared. I turned on the spot and headed for the stairs, quickly making my way towards the Art class room. I walked in and up to the busty, brown-haired woman in the miniskirt I assumed was Ms. Philips and told her who I was. She found me an easel to work at, between a tall red-headed girl, and an empty spot. The lesson began, and Ms. Philips said that we were free to work on our own topics, making or drawing whatever we liked – as long as it linked to the chosen topic. That pleased me, as I knew exactly what my topic would be.

Picking up a pencil and getting ready to sketch out a big, blue box, my hand slipped on the easel as the door flew open, leaving an ugly grey line. I sighed and turned to the door to see a bulky guy in glasses dragging in a boy with a shaved-head and navy blue sweater-vest, not unlike my own. "Get in there, Hopkins, and don't let me catch you being late again!" He barked, pushing the boy further into the classroom.

'_Hopkins? The guy who started yesterday?_' I looked the new arrival up and down, deciding he was someone not to be trifled with. I hoped I could avoid getting on his bad side, Pete's warning echoing in my mind. I looked back to my easel, seeing the boy walk over to the empty space beside me out of the corner of my eye. I erased the line and began to work carefully, and tried very hard not to draw attention to myself. Despite getting to draw whatever I liked, I was anxious to be next to Jimmy – if I remember correctly Gary calling him that – for the next couple of hours. Lunch couldn't come fast enough.

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**21.04.13 -** So that was Chapter 3! Like I said, I'm really happy with how it turned out, and if anyone can work out what I'm having Daniel draw, they get 20 House points, and also get to be entered into the Hall of Fame A.K.A my best friends.

So yeah, seeing as I've got Chapter 4 in the cooking pot, I can't see it taking me too long to write. Therefore, if it is possible, I would like to have maybe two or three reviews before I upload it. I mean, what's the point if people don't tell me they're enjoying it, right?

Anyway, I'm off to finish watching the Avengers.

Until next time,

~ RyRy


	4. Chapter 4

**22.04.13 - **Right, I know I said this wouldn't be uploaded until I had some reviews, but I had another plan.

Instead of waiting for my small story to get more reviews before uploading new chapters, try and coax more reviews out of people by uploading new chapters. See?

Anyway, here's Chapter 4. This actually came out of no where. I had an entirely different idea, which will carry over into Chapter 5. Once I realised I was only just starting that idea, I was already onto page four, so I thought I'd leave it for there.

Hope you like it. :)

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The Art lesson passed by relatively nicely, the only hitches being the mistakes I made to my drawing. I made occasional glances over to Jimmy's easel, and saw that he was painting a picture of Ms. Philips laid out on a couch. He had taken a few…"_artistic liberties_" but overall, the painting looked pretty nice. For someone who looked like they could knock me out with a third of their strength, he was a good artist.

My own easel only had a bold outline of the subject, ready to have the colour applied to it next week, and then the background to be done the week after. Ms. Philips wasn't sure what I was attempting to draw, but explaining my chosen topic to her, she seemed to be happy with it. She was enthusiastic about Jimmy's painting too. Whether because it was good, or because he had paid particular attention to her natural assets, I don't know.

I quickly left the lesson as the bell rang, and hurried down to the cafeteria. Giving the students an hour and a half for lunch seemed rather generous, as my last school only gave 45 minutes. I saw Pete sat at a table taking a chunk out of an apple, and I gave him a wave. He smiled as he saw me, and pointed to the seat opposite, but I gestured over to where all the cooked food was spread out. He mimed throwing up, and I rolled my eyes as I picked up a tray and walked over to the food.

My eyes flitted from dish to dish, not thinking that much of it looked appetising. I saw what I thought was spaghetti and meatballs, so scooped some onto a plate and took the seat opposite Pete. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, looking down at the plate as if it were diseased.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Edna cooked it." He grinned. I turned to look at where the food was laid out, and saw a large woman in grey clothes, a hairnet and an apron setting a couple more things out. She then had a violent coughing fit all over – what I assumed to be – a tray of lasagne. I felt my stomach turn and I pushed the plate away. "Smart move." He said while I reached for a banana.

We just sat there for a while, chatting as we slowly ate – we were in no rush with over an hour of break left. We talked about how our classes went, and we had a chance to learn a bit more about the other and I told Pete about how being a gay kid in mainstream schooling had gone for me. "Wow, that makes what I've been through sound pretty tame." He commented, looking surprised that I could still be willing to go to school after it all.

"Things affect people differently. Just because someone else has been through something you consider to be worse than your own experiences, it doesn't lessen the impact they had on you." I said, finishing off the banana.

Pete thought about it for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "You've got a point there." A moment later, a sad look appeared on Pete's face, almost in exactly the same instant as a heavy hand slammed onto my shoulder, startling me.

"Well, well, how's your date, Petey? You must be so bored of hearing this guy spill his history for you. "_Oh, I'm Danny and I've been bullied so tragically, pity me, pity me!_" Give me a break." Gary's harsh laughter at his own joke made me feel kind of sick, so I pushed myself to my feet.

"If you boys don't mind, I want to go to the library." I said dryly, wanting to get away from Gary. The boy's hand on my shoulder was making me feel uncomfortable.

"I've not upset your little lover, have I?" Gary asked, a fake shock to his tone. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Danny. Here, let's kiss and make up." '_He wouldn't._' He did. I watched with what felt like fear as a smirk appeared across Gary's lips before he grabbed my shoulders and roughly pressed his lips against my own. My eyes practically bulged out of their sockets in surprise, and I was quick to push Gary off of me, and wipe my arm across my lips.

That _really_ wasn't how I imagined my first kiss would go. I always thought it would be with a really handsome guy, as he held me in his arms and gently kissed me, with light shining down on us and a chorus of cherubs singing. Not stolen from me by some psychotic nutjob who seemed like he was off his meds in the school cafeteria.

"Petey, what do you see in this guy? He's not even a very good kisser." Gary laughed again, and I really did think I was going to throw up. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, hearing Pete say a quiet "Shut up, Gary" as I left. I quickly made my way to the toilets and emptied my guts into the bowl.

Was I really that affected by having my first kiss taken from me by Gary? I shuddered, and moved to the sink to wash my mouth out. Now, if it had been Pete who'd done it, I wouldn't have minded. Pete, as tiny as he looked, was probably one of those people who was just a naturally good kisser.

I knew I was thinking too hard about it when I realised I wanted Pete to kiss me. I splashed some water on my face, and told myself to stop thinking about it. I'd known Pete less than a day. I was sure I wasn't the type of guy to want to kiss someone as soon as meeting them. Slightly less sure now, but still at least 90% sure.

… 85%.

I took a moment to collect myself before heading out of the building and towards the library. Pushing open the door, I was happy to see a good number of bookshelves lining a large open space in the middle where students could work on desks. I walked in further and saw that there was even a second story with more bookshelves. This felt like a little corner of heaven in a place that seemed like hell.

I saw a woman in a grey dress with her black hair in a bun putting some books back on shelf, and assumed she was the librarian. As I came up next to her, I cleared my throat to get her attention. She turned and looked down her nose at me, and I felt like I was going to get abuse hurled in my direction. I dismissed the feeling, and gave her a small smile. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could point me to the fiction section?" I asked politely.

"What's Mr. Galloway got you brats reading now?" She spat, crossing her arms across her chest. I was confused by the names, but using a drop of logic, I assumed that Mr. Galloway was the school's English teacher.

"Oh, it's not for a class, I was just curious to see if there was anything I might fancy reading." She almost looked surprised that there was a student in front of her wanting to read just because they could.

"Erm, well," he said, her voice and features taking on a much friendlier appearance. "it's just up the stairs. All those shelves are fiction." She answered, giving a small smile. I thanked her and made my way to the staircase, accidentally knocking arms with a large boy in a green sweater vest and trousers that didn't look completely fastened.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" He glared, with a nasal laugh. It seemed even the nerdier kids in the school could be mean. Or at least, try to. I apologised quickly and quietly before continuing up the stairs to find any books that looked interesting.

It didn't take long before I found a book called _Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment _by James Patterson, and the novel of _Jurassic Park_ by Michael Crichton. It took me a while to find them as it was now 12:55, and my next lesson was Gym. That meant straying into jock territory. I wasn't sure if that were a good idea with books on me, but I didn't think I'd have the time to get to the dorm and then to the gym, so I would have to risk it.

I quickly got the books checked out, and made my way towards the gym. Pete was sat on the fountain, looking bored out of his mind. He must've noticed me, as he waved to me. He probably wished he hadn't though, because as soon as his attention was distracted, one of the people who looked to be a jock walked past, and as if it were absolutely nothing, pushed Pete into the fountain. I quickly hurried over and helped the spluttering boy out.

"What the hell was that for?" I wondered aloud as I watched Pete drip water. The water had made the pink almost see-through, and his tan skin was visible underneath. He put his arms around himself and tried to hold back his shivering. "You were just sat there, you weren't even doing anything."

"I'm kind of an easy target around here." He said, looking dejected. I glared daggers towards the prat who'd done it, before gesturing towards the gymnasium.

"C'mon, you need to change before you develop pneumonia." I said, pulling him along by the arm. A couple of the other jocks had a few things to say, but we just did our best to ignore them. I got a rough shove from one of them but I kept walking, with Pete close behind. Once in the changing room, I found the locker that I had been given and found it already filled with whatever sports clothes I'd need.

Pete had already begun to peel his wet clothes off, and my earlier conversation with myself snapped into my mind. '_Don't look at him, Dan, don't even glance his way. You barely know him._" I quickly went about changing out of my own clothes, and according to the lesson plan, into a wrestling uniform. The thing looked odd to me with its dark blue and muddy cream colours, but I put it on nonetheless. Also not flattering.

As I put my clothes and the two books into the locker, Jimmy walked in, giving a hello to Pete before starting to get changed. Pete responded with a smile and asked if he had met me yet. He looked me up and down before remembering who I was. "You were next to me in Art, right?" I nodded, and extended my hand out to him.

"I'm Daniel." I said, a smile on my face.

"Jimmy." He replied, taking my hand and shaking it. His grip was tight, but not crushing like Gary's had been.

"What you were painting looked really good, by the way." I said, remembering his piece of art.

"Well, that's only because Ms. Philips looks so good, know what I mean?" He grinned, and I let out a somewhat awkward laugh.

"Not really, sorry." I shrugged, trying not to make too big of a deal of it.

"Why, are you gay?" He asked, as he started to change into his own wrestling uniform.

"Yes, actually." I responded, closing my locker and leaning against the wall as I waited for Pete to finish changing.

"Really? Oh, cool." Jimmy said, pulling the uniform up his body. His non-abusive response surprised me. He was the only person other than Pete not to care about my sexuality. It gave me a newfound optimism on what the rest of the year would be like after my first day.

By the time Pete was ready, Jimmy was waiting with me, and we'd had a short chat about what we thought of the school so far. We both agreed that it was a bit of a dump. The three of us then walked out into the sports hall, where a matt was laid out and the teacher, Coach Burton as Pete informed me, summoned Jimmy and another student to the matt. Pete and I sat on the bench and watched as the lesson began.

I had to admit, I was surprised at how my first day had gone. A new friend in less than an hour, first kiss stolen from me by a psycho, and now I seemed to have another person on my side, both of whom having no problem with me being gay. I could only have hope that it would last.

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**22.04.13 - **As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Again, I'm happy with it, and I hope you are too. I'll be working on the fifth chapter soon before I lose the idea, so that will be up in the foreseeable future. :)

But yes, until next time.

~RyRy


	5. Chapter 5

**01.05.13 -** So here is Chapter 5, as promised! :D

I really like this chapter, and it's longer than the others, so hopefully you'll enjoy it too.

Again, I've got no reviews, but if people like this, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to tell me your thoughts?

Anywhore, enjoy. :3

* * *

For a lesson that I never had a passion for, Gym went pretty well. I explained to Coach Burton that I'd not done wrestling in my last school, and he said that Pete and I could practice together. So while we both tried our best to beat the other, we had a bit of a chat and laugh about it too. Burton wasn't too happy about that, but he was more focused on his star pupils than us. Jimmy seemed to be a natural, as he soon had his opponent crying in pain on the floor.

Jimmy and I changed back into our uniforms, whereas Pete was forced to wear his back to the dorm where he could dry off his still damp clothes. "I still can't believe that jerk did that." I said, pushing open the door and feeling the cool autumn air on my face.

"I told you," Jimmy started, hands balling into fists. "this school's full of jumped-up brats who need someone to put them in their place." Pete and I both nodded in agreement.

As we got back into the dorm, Pete and I went into our room, while Jimmy went off to do his own thing. Pete laid his wet clothes on the radiator which the school was too cheap to turn on, while I settled down on my bed with _Jurassic Park_. Pete seemed more comfortable with me being in the room as he changed, but asked me to keep my eyes on the book as he changed his boxers. I did as I was told, as when I got started, it was hard to pull me out of a book. Pete finished changing and said he was going to try and watch the telly, and I gave him a nod of recognition. He left the door open slightly, and I was free to fall into the world this book was pulling me into.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been reading, but there was a niggling sound that kept tugging at my attention. The more I tried to ignore it, the louder it became. _It's sink or swim, my friend,_ I heard and I almost instantly knew who it was. I'd only heard the voice for the first time that morning, but Gary's harsh tones could cut through a room like a blade of ice. "and if you're good at swimming, you've got to let the losers drown." '_He doesn't pull his punches, does he?_' I quietly stood, bookmarking the page I was on and moved closer the door.

"Why don't you guys leave the thinking up to me?"

"What?" I was certain that was Jimmy, and getting closer to the door, I peered out and saw I was right.

"What? What, what, dur." He said, mocking Jimmy. "Can't you say anything else?" He chuckled before moving toward Pete. "You know what, Petey, you were right – Jimmy is pretty dumb."

"What'd you say about me?" I felt sorry for Pete as he stood and backed away from Jimmy who advanced threateningly.

"Whoa, nothing, no, no, no! All I said was that you had to be pretty dumb to get expelled from so many schools, that's all." Oh, Pete. The boy really needed to think before he spoke.

"Relax, James," Gary stood from the sofa, his voice almost making me shiver. "all he said was that you must be dumb, or maybe you're all messed up because you came from a broken home."

Jimmy saw red and almost charged at Pete. "What'd you say about me, dwarf?" Gary stepped in the way, saving Pete from a beating.

"Come on, dude. Chill." Gary said, trying to simmer down the tempest that was Jimmy.

"No, no, no, no… Gary's taking everything out of context, man." Pete stammered, but the way Gary's head slowly turned to look at Pete made me think that this was also the wrong thing to have said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't lie, Petey. Don't you lie." He threatened, pointing his finger to Pete as he stepped closer to the boy. "Because you know what happens to liars?"

"No, no, I'm not lying."

"We kick them in the balls!" Gary swung his leg up, and I saw Pete go down on the floor as the elder boy's foot made contact with his genitals. Gary laughed as Pete lay groaning, and I had an urge to go and give him a taste of his own medicine, but I remained behind the door, not wanting to aggravate Gary and draw his attention to me. It felt cowardly, but it wouldn't help anyone if he attacked me too.

"Come on, Jimmy," he started, turning to leave. "let's go see how good you are with this new slingshot I heard you had." Jimmy looked surprised that he'd found out, but Gary just looked back to him. "Don't worry, friend, nothing escapes my notice. I hear everything." That almost felt like a warning to me as I shrank further into the room to ensure Gary couldn't see me through the crack in the door. "You and me, we can do things." He said before I heard the door open and then close.

It seemed Gary's senses weren't as sharp as he thought, as he actually hadn't noticed me. Unless that's what he wanted me to think. But I quickly made my way over to Pete and found him curled up on the couch. I put a hand on his shoulder and he visibly flinched. "It's just me, Pete." I said quietly, rubbing his arm. "I saw what happened, are you alright?" Pete shook his head, and I noticed a couple of tears rolling down his face.

I got a can of cola from the vending machine and sat down next to Pete, passing it to him. "I'm not thirsty." He said, slowly sitting up and wiping his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves.

"It's not to drink, it's for your balls." I said, grinning. "Put it between your legs, it'll act like an ice pack. If it works on bumped heads and grazed knees, why not bruised bollocks?" Pete took the can and placed it between his legs, shivering as it made contact.

"Thanks, Danny." He mumbled, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"I can't believe Gary treats you like that. It's disgusting."

"It's Bullworth. He's the big guy, and I'm the little guy, and because he's bigger, he gets to pick on me." He said sadly.

"Haven't you tried telling a teacher?" I asked, lifting a hand to rub his back with.

"They never do anything." I could feel anger bubbling inside me. The teachers here seemed to be as slack as they were in my old schools. It was enough to make you sick. But instead of flying into a rage about how the faculty should be looking after their students, I decided to just quietly sit with Pete and watch the TV as he tried to dull the ache in his testicles.

"What book were you reading?" He asked me after a while. I assumed his groin was feeling better, as he picked up the can and popped it open, taking a sip.

"_Jurassic Park_. You seen the movie?"

"Yeah. How's the book?"

"I'm not very far through it yet, but it's not bad. The part I'm on doesn't happen in the movie, but that happens with book-to-film adaptations." I shrugged, and Pete nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, look at _Harry Potter_." He said, and we both laughed.

"You've read Harry Potter?" I asked, turning in my seat to face him.

"Read it? A boy finds out he's a wizard, and gets to go to a school of witchcraft where he makes good friends and has adventures? Man, I wish I was him." He let out a sigh, and I had to admit, I saw the appeal. Hogwarts was certainly several steps up from Bullworth.

Just as I was about to question Pete on what he thought about the _Harry Potter_ series, the door slammed open and who should walk in but Gary. He sauntered over and leant on the couch, looking down at Pete and I. "I've not walked in on the precious moment where you two kiss for the first time, have I?"

"You wish." I said, leaning back as I looked up to him.

"What did you say?" he repeated, glaring at me as he crossed his arms.

"I said you wish. Or maybe you don't." I got to my feet, and stood my ground. "Maybe it would make you jealous to see me kissing Pete. Though who you'd be jealous of, I'm not sure." Gary's hands clenched into fists, and I thought he was about to punch me, but Pete shot up and grabbed Gary's wrist.

"Stop it, Gary." He said, eyes imploring the older boy not to hit me.

"Well, if I can't hit your boyfriend…" he sighed before turning quickly and bringing the palm of his hand hard against Pete's cheek. The clap rang out and I could almost feel the sting as Pete's cheek reddened.

"He isn't my boyfriend, and you're just a…a…" Pete trailed off, not meeting Gary's eyes.

"Oh, this is great. Go on, Petey, go cry to the teacher." He pushed Pete back by the shoulder. "Tell them I was nasty to you."

"Shut up, Gary. You're such a jerk, man."

"Oooh, am I, Petey…" he said, recoiling as if he'd been run through with a sword. "oh, you're _so_ cutting. I'm really upset. Actually, I think I'm gonna go cry." His sarcastic voice made me wish it was me on the receiving end of this, and not Pete. I antagonised him after all. "Then I'd be just like you. Cry, little girl…"

The sound of footsteps made us all look towards the door, to see Jimmy walking towards us. "Oh, look out, here comes Jimmy." He said, holding his hands up as if Jimmy were a cop.

"Just knock it off, Gary. You're out of line." I wondered if he'd seen Pete get slapped. I knew I owed the boy an apology later.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise I was hanging out in the girls' dorm. Silly me." He spat, and I rolled my eyes at his quite frankly cheap attempt at an insult.

"Shut up, man. You're boring." Jimmy said, his comeback not being much better.

"Boring? I'm boring? You're none too interesting yourself, friend." He said, moving close to Jimmy and narrowing his eyes at the boy. He paused, took a moment and backed off, letting out a tense breath. "Look, I'm sorry. Both of you." His eyes landed on me, and he gave a smile that I was certain wasn't sincere, despite its looks. "You too, Danny. I apologise, okay? I just get a little over-excited. Forgive me."

"Forget it. It's cool." Jimmy said, although I was still on the fence about the coolness. But far be it from me to deny people another chance at being a decent human.

"Anyway, I've got a good idea for some fun." Jimmy, Pete and I stepped closer, ready to hear this idea. Fun, even by Gary's definition, seemed like it might not be terrible right now. "Let's go out and torment someone really helpless and unfortunate," I was wrong. "that homeless guy." New lows had just been hit. Who considered tormenting homeless people fun? I certainly didn't, but at the same time, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Pete with Gary just yet. "Come on."

Gary and Jimmy made for the door, but Pete turned away, and I stayed with him, mentally cheering him on for defying Gary. "You coming, little boys? Come on, I'm sorry. I'll give you both a kiss if that's what you want? One up here," he pointed to his lips. "and one down there." He pointed to his crotch.

"Shut up." Pete groaned, and I was agreeing with the sentiment, rolling my eyes at the psycho.

"Then come on." He said firmly before turning with Jimmy to leave. Pete was still for a moment before following, and I was close behind. "This is gonna be fun." Gary said as we stepped into the evening air and made our way to where the homeless guy lived – behind the broken down bus in the parking lot.

"Harassing some old homeless guy is fun?" Pete said, giving Gary a sceptical look.

"It is. And you should be grateful that you're not the victim for once." Gary sneered.

"I guess." Pete mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

"Hey, Jimmy," Gary called out to the boy leading our group. "tell me about this guy. Does he like to go in his own pants?"

"How would he know?" I asked, hands deep in my pockets to protect them from the cold.

"They're probably related." Gary shrugged. Jimmy either ignored the comment, or didn't hear it, because he kept walking. We soon got to the bus, and Jimmy pushed the door open, but as luck would have it, some bullies across the parking lot had seen us, and were running our way. I pushed Pete through the door, and then went through. I looked back to see Gary casually strolling towards the door.

"Hurry!" I called, not particularly wanting him to get beaten by the bullies, despite his shitty attitude. He got through the door and closed it before the bullies could get inside. The pounded on the door and shouted all manner of things, but Gary simply turned his back on them. He then grabbed the waist of his trousers and pulled the backside down just far enough for his butt to come out, and then waved it in front of the bullies like a red rag to a bull. He even gave a cheek a slap, just for good measure.

I raised an eyebrow at the display, wondering what the hell had possessed him, but he just grinned up at me. "Bet you wish you were out there to see it, eh, fag?"I rolled my eyes and flipped him the middle finger before getting off the bus through the other exit. "Maybe I'll show you later on." I politely told him to piss off before walking to Pete and looking around the empty area littered with, well… litter.

Gary had joined us, rear no longer on show, and looked very disappointed to see not a single homeless guy in sight. "Where is this dirty old perv?"

"You know, you're not very nice, Gary." Pete said, turning to face the boy.

"And you're a loser, Petey… one of life's unfortunates." He said, giving Pete a look as if he'd stepped in something awful.

Out of nowhere, a man in a beanie hat, grey vest and tattered black trousers stumbled out of the rubbish and towards Gary. The man looked like he was struggling to stand, and he reeked of alcohol and a severe lack of hygiene. "Get out of here, you little scum!" He yelled, almost falling over as he walked.

Gary laughed dismissively. "So I guess the rumours are true, Jimmy. Your dad does live on campus."

"You jerk!" Jimmy spat, while the old man threw a brick at Gary, it clunking against his elbow. He made a noise of pain, and it almost made me happy to see Gary get hurt.

"Let's leave this guy to his welfare payments! Come on! Let's get out of here!" Gary turned heel and ran away, Pete quick on his feet. I looked to Jimmy and gave him a shrug.

"I'm going to make sure Gary doesn't kill Pete." I gave him a small wave before leaving him with the old man. I stepped off of the bus, relieved to see the bullies had gone, but Pete and Gary weren't around either. But then from around the side of the bus, I heard what I thought was wood, creaking. And another noise. No, it couldn't be. Was that… was that a _moan_? I slowly walked around to the back of the bus, and my jaw almost hit the floor in surprise.

I saw Pete pressed tightly against the fence, with Gary's body firm against his own. Gary's hands were at Pete's wrists, holding them against the fence so the boy was helpless. Gary was roughly kissing Pete, their mouths moving together as Gary kept Pete under his control. Gary pulled his mouth away and latched it onto Pete's neck, sucking and biting at the boy's flesh.

Pete's eyes were closed, but I wasn't sure if it was because he was enjoying himself, or because he didn't want to watch. Pete's mouth fell open, his breath coming in short and ragged. "_Gary_.." he moaned again. That confirmed what I had heard moments before. Pete's eyes opened further, and almost popped out of their sockets as he saw me watching. "Gary!" he exclaimed, causing the older boy to stop and glare at him.

"What, Petey, I'm not even half hard yet." He muttered before moving to bite his neck again. Pete shook his head and looked in my direction.

"Daniel." He uttered.

"What about that homo?" Gary demanded, it seeming as if my name was really pissing him off. He finally noticed Pete was looking past him, and turned to see me stood there, dumbstruck.

If looks could kill, I'd have died on the spot. I could feel Gary's fury burning into me, his nostrils flaring and lips pulling back over his teeth. He charged over to me, and gripped my shoulders so tight that I almost yelled, but the look on Gary's face had scared me into silence. He slammed me against the back of the bus, and closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the impending punch to come. But it didn't. All I felt was hot breath on my face.

I opened an eye to see Pete holding back Gary's free hand, stopping him from decking me. I looked up at Gary, fear painting my face as I waited, the moment seeming to last a lifetime. "What did you see?" Gary said under his breath, his eyes boring into mine.

"Nothing. I didn't see anything." I said quietly, telling Gary exactly what he wanted to hear. He was silent for a while, and Pete let go of his arm.

"Good." Anger flared up on his face again, and I saw his arm move. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of his fist, but instead, it landed next to my head, denting the metal of the bus. "Let's go, Petey." He growled, before letting go of me and storming away. Pete gave me an apologetic look before he followed, and I couldn't stop my knees giving out as I sank to the floor. _That_ had been scarier than anything that had happened at the other schools. Gary really was crazy. And if he wasn't crazy, he was evidently in denial. But I wasn't going to be the one to bring that up.

I took a while to collect myself before heading towards the dorm. I didn't know what time it was, but it was dark, and I didn't want to get caught out of the dorm past curfew. I knew that was a rule imposed seriously by the prefects.

I was quickly inside and in the room I shared with Pete. It was empty, and I was sure Pete was with Gary, but where they were, I didn't care. I quickly stripped down to my boxers and climbed into my bed, the cool fabric surrounding me and putting me somewhat at ease.

I think I'd been laying there for half an hour before I heard the door creak open, and feet pad across to Pete's bed. I heard noises that sounded like clothes coming off, so I assumed it was Pete getting into bed. I thought I would hear the creak of bedsprings as Pete lay down, but instead, more footsteps. My eyes were shut, but I could tell that Pete was stood nearby.

"Danny?" he said in his timid voice. It was like he was trying with every word he said not to upset anyone when he sounded like that. I didn't answer and feigned sleep. "I'm sorry for Gary, he's just… it's complicated. Sorry." I heard him step away and get into his own bed.

_Complicated_? I wasn't sure I wanted to know how complicated things could be here, but if this was how my first day was going to go, I was pretty sure that I would find out, whether I liked it or not.

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**01.05.13 - **And thus ends Daniel's first day at Bullworth!

As mentioned earlier, feel free to send me your comments and thoughts in the form of a review.

Also, wish me luck for Friday (**03.05.13**) as I have an university interview.. I am nervous.

Chapter 6 is complete, and I'm going to upload on the... **17th May! **So look out for it then.

Until next time,

~RyRy


	6. Chapter 6

**29.05.13 - **OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY THAT I FORGOT TO UPLOAD THIS WHEN I SAID I WOULD I AM A BIG BAG OF DICKS AND I HOPE YOU DON'T HATE ME.

Seriously, I totally forgot about this. College and stuffs makes my brain forget how to do things well and at the right time.

Anyway, Chapter 6 is here, and it mainly deals with the "Defend Bucky" mission in the game. I hope you enjoy it.

And as usual - **Reviewer Replies!**

**Maiyay:** Honestly, if you hadn't reminded me I'd said I'd upload then, we would still be waiting on this, so thank you. I'm really glad you like the story so far. Inspirational Mind Beserker thing? Care to explain? And recently, my friend Boris has been helping me out with the story, suggesting how I could alter things slightly. So it's becoming more of a collaboration than just solely my thing. I'm not entirely sure who Nathaniel Hawthorne is, but thank you anyway. :) I'll definitely be able to find the time, as summer is soon on the way, but it will be finding the inspiration to get writing that I might struggle with, as I can't just make myself do it, I've got to wait until I feel like I've got something good that I can flow with.

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Given how my first day at Bullworth went, the rest of the week wasn't so bad. Nor were the next three. From the start of September to the end, I had managed to keep myself in almost everyone's good books. Well, everyone who mattered, at least. Okay, so just a few people other than Pete. But still, I was happy with that for now.

I'd even started to make new friends. In the past couple of weeks I've been getting to know Christy, Ivan and Pedro, even helping the latter with Maths every other day after school. Of course, Jimmy and Pete are great guys too, and they've been looking out for me while I'm still settling in. – Jimmy when someone takes a sudden, violent dislike to me, and Pete when I've got problems with my classes. He's smarter than he gives himself credit for.

Despite that, he's been very quiet about what I saw on that evening of my first day. He was acting as if Gary kissing him hadn't even happened. He didn't bring it up once. I tried to initiate a conversation about it, but Pete said he had to go and work on something in the Library. Does he think I'll judge him or something? I mean, sure, he could have better taste, but _I_ can't really be against Pete kissing guys, can I? Whenever Gary sees me around the school, he just glares at me, so I'm too scared to bring it up with him. Hopefully I can get Pete to talk at some point.

Going back to classes, I've been doing quite well with those too. In that respect, it's just like any other school. The teachers seem to know what they're doing, and I try my best in each of their classes. I'd had my first Biology, Music, Chemistry & English lessons at the school, and while I didn't always have Pete around to help me, I seemed to coincidentally share all of my classes with Jimmy. So chatting with him when things got tough certainly helped to pass the time.

In fact, the only things that made me notice the time passing were the emails from my parents. They were regularly messaging me, asking how I was, what I thought of the school, about making friends and doing well in my classes. I had to mention to my dad that thanks to my picking up his British accent, it had gained me a fair bit of unwanted attention. Nothing too bad and nothing that I couldn't handle, but dad still felt kind of guilty. I wouldn't change my accent for anything and he knew that.

It felt like October rolled around pretty quickly, and there was a definite late autumn chill in the air. I'd started to keep my sleeves down now, and occasionally wore gloves, as cold hands were not helpful when it came to some of my classes, especially Art. I couldn't draw for love nor money when my hands were frozen.

I was grateful that the library was kept heated as it got colder. That was where I would help Pedro with his Maths, and it must've been working, as the boy's grades were very gradually picking up, but he still had a way to go before he'd be up to where he should be. I had suspicions that he had dyscalculia, a learning difficulty, and found him a book to read on it. I'd ended up googling a couple techniques that I used with him to help him learn, and thankfully, they were working.

After our session that day, I left him in the library, as he wanted to find another book that I had recommended, not to help him learn but to read for fun. He seemed like the type of kid who would like the _Harry Potter_ books. I waved to him as he began to rifle through the shelves for the book, and quickly made my way out towards the boy's dorm.

Damn, it was cold. My breath hung in the air in front of me for a moment before I walked through it, hastily moving across the grounds. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest as I walked, determined not to let the little warmth within me get snuffed out by the cold. Passing the front of the school, I passed by a pair of bullies – a blonde one and a smaller, brown haired guy, who Pete pointed out as Trent and Davis - heading in the direction of the auto shop. I was sure I heard one of them mention 'ganging up on one of the nerds', but I couldn't have been certain.

I was soon inside the boys' dorm but it was barely any warmer inside. I saw Pete sat in on the sofa watching the telly, so I quickly grabbed the latest book I was reading (the next in the _Maximum Ride_ series) from our room, and a couple cans of cola from the vending machine before joining him. I gave him a can and he looked appreciative. "What're you watching?" I asked, crossing my legs on the sofa and opening the book to the page I was on.

"Oh, just a swimming competition." Pete answered, popping open his can and taking a sip. "It's the only channel that's working." I heard him say as I watched as a hairless and well-toned male swimmer powering through the water in nothing but a swim cap and Speedos that left nothing to the imagination.

"I wouldn't kick him out of bed." I grinned, looking over to Pete, who was biting his bottom lip as if there was something he didn't want to say aloud. I put it out of my mind and let him carry on watching, opening my can and taking regular sips as I moved through my book.

I was snapped out of the world of flying bird-kids and wolf-monsters as a door slammed. "No, no, no! That'll never work!" Gary's voice reverberated through the dorm. He entered the lounge and stormed over to the vending machine, giving it a firm kick. A moment later, it rattled and deposited a can of cola for him. He quickly scooped it up and drained it in less than a minute, throwing a wave in our direction. I'd looked up from the book when he came in and it surprised me to see that he was acting not at all like his usual psychotic self.

I waved back before returning to the book. The next thing I knew, Gary had come over to stand with Pete, and had picked the remote right out of his hand. "Isn't anything else on?" He drawled, flicking through the channels. Pete quickly snatched the remote back, his speed surprising Gary, and turned the TV back to the swimming. "Excuse you, Petey." Gary chided, turning on his heel to leave. He paused halfway to the door, before grinning mischievously and creeping back up behind Pete.

"Sorry, Petey, I didn't mean to." Gary pouted, trying to look as innocent as he could.

"Sure you are." Pete muttered as he turned his attention back to the TV.

Gary looked at me, still pouting as if he were a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar. "Tell him, Danny, I didn't mean it."

"Leave me out of this one." I said, waving my hand and keeping my eyes on my book.

Gary gave an irritated sigh before leaning forwards against the back of the sofa. A moment later he was poking Pete's shoulders. "Sorry… sorry about that Petey…" he said with a grin on his face as he prodded.

"Cut it out. Stop Gary, I'm trying to watch this." Pete was starting to sound annoyed, as anyone else would be with someone incessantly poking them while they tried to watch TV.

"Ahhh! Swim team! Intellectual stuff…" Gary said, moving around the sofa to stand between Pete and the TV. "So tell me, Petey, do you like watching the girls in their swimming costumes?" Pete was trying to look past Gary, but the boy wasn't moving. "Does that fuel your filthy little fantasies-"

"Gary - just get out of the way." Pete whined, fidgeting as he sat.

"Oh, Marion, show me your breast stroke again!" Gary imitated, leaning forward, closer to Pete. "Or wait… do you like the boys on the team?" He grinned, casting a glance over to me. "I'm sure Dan can give you a couple pointers on who's the best at their stroke."

"Yeah, right, Gary." Pete answered, trying to ignore the question.

"Which is it, Petey?" Gary demanded, getting really into Pete's face.

I set my book aside and rolled my eyes at Gary. "Just leave him alone." Gary turned to glare at me just as Jimmy walked in from who knows where. He'd probably just returned from a detention.

"I see you guys are getting along as usual." Sarcasm laced his voice, and Gary turned his attention to Jimmy, giving Pete a firm smack on the arm which made him whine.

"I'm just toughening him up." Gary defended, walking around towards Jimmy. "Turning him into a man. Or a woman. Or something…"

"Hey Jimmy, hey Petey." I looked over to the door for the voice, and saw Algernon walk in. I had seen him around the school and library a lot, but remembered him as the boy who had bumped into me on the stairs on my first day.

"Ahhh, Pee Stain! Good to see you." Gary exclaimed, Algie ignoring the insult.

"Listen, Jimmy, I need a favour. Bucky went to the auto shop to get some parts for his science projects. He hasn't come back yet." Algie explained quickly, and sounded worried for his friend. I suddenly remembered what I had heard the two outside said about ganging up on a nerd. "I think he might be in trouble… please."

I knelt up on the sofa, looking towards Jimmy, Algie and Gary. "Earlier I heard Trent & Davis talking about 'ganging up on a nerd'. Could be Bucky." I suggested. Jimmy thought it over, deciding it made sense, but looked back to Algie.

"Why don't you go yourself?" He asked the large boy, who began to shift uncomfortably.

"I've got homework…" He said with an awkward laugh. "Okay, I'm frightened, and I've got a weak bladder." He burst, looking almost like he were about to cry. "I think those bullies Dan said have gotten him. Please, I'll pay…" He was practically begging now, thinking that his friend's life was in danger.

A grin appeared on Gary's face and he set a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "I say do it – it's a good chance to show Russell who's in charge around here." He reasoned. He quickly turned on Algie and gave his shoulder a sharp push. "Now run along Pee Stain, before you mark the carpet." He made sure Algie had left and slowly walked back towards Jimmy.

"Yes, we've got to take care of Russell and his boys then after that, take care of all the other cliques." I watched Gary and could see the cogs in his head turning at four times normal speed, his plans coming together. But what the end result would be I didn't know. "Soon this school will be ours."

"I don't want the school." Jimmy said simply, which Gary did not like.

"Yeah, well I do, pal, and I intend to get it." He snapped, Jimmy not even flinching. "Now go help that dork."

"And what are you going to do?" Jimmy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got planning to do." He said simply, walking back towards Pete.

Jimmy sighed, and looked over at me. "You saw a couple of the guys who went over there, right?" I nodded, and he turned to leave. "You're coming with me." I didn't want to argue so I quickly got to my feet, chucked the book in on my bed and followed Jimmy outside.

As the door shut behind me, Jimmy was already barrelling across the ground. I took off running and I soon caught up with him. "What're we going to do when we find them?" I asked, assuming that Jimmy had a plan.

"If Bucky's on his own, we get him out of there. If he isn't, we get to crack some skulls." Jimmy smiled, relishing the thought of getting to give a couple of Russell's goons a pounding. I wasn't so happy that I might have to fight, as I'd never really been in a fight before. The wrestling lessons during Gym gave me a couple moves, but other than that, all I could do was swing my fist or foot and hope for the best.

We went through the auto shop via the parking lot, and before we were even through the gate, we could hear voices, and some were definitely more violent than others. We looked in, and Davis and Wade were giving Bucky some grief. "Hey!" Jimmy called, grabbing their attention. "Leave the runt alone."

Davis stepped forward, brandishing a wooden baseball bat. "Who's going to make us?"

"We are." Jimmy ran towards Davis and tackled him down to the ground, making him drop the baseball bat. "Get it!" Jimmy yelled as he landed several blows to Davis' head.

I quickly made for the bat, but Wade came out of nowhere and bowled me over. I tumbled onto my stomach, and rolled over just in time to avoid Wade's foot stamping on my back. I scrambled towards the bat and picked it up, holding it out offensively at Wade. "Don't make me use it." I threatened, with a clear wobble in my voice.

"Like you got the guts." He said, his voice rough and loud. His joyful look at having me to beat into a pulp disappeared as he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see Jimmy's fist connect hard with his nose, and while he was stunned, I came up behind him and swung the bat into his right side, and then his left. He groaned and fell to the floor, holding himself, and Davis was still laid out unconscious with Bucky kicking weakly at his side.

"Nice one." Jimmy smiled at me, and I had to admit, it had felt good to smack Wade around, but I decided I wouldn't make a habit of it. Bucky abandoned his attack and came over to us.

"I've still got to find a couple tools." He said nasally and out of breath.

"C'mon then." Jimmy sighed, as we headed for the break in the wall that would let us get to the garage. No sooner had we gone through than another two, Troy & Trent, were on us, Trent armed with a second bat. Mine had cracked when I hit Wade, and it wouldn't last long, so I tossed it to Jimmy who ran for Trent, smacking the boy with the bat, which broke as it made contact. As Trent was distracted, he quickly took Trent's before advancing on Troy.

With Jimmy occupying Troy, I was left with Trent. The tall blonde boy wasn't so intimidating when he was recovering from being hit, but he was soon back on form, and glaring at me. The look must've scared Bucky, because he ran and hid by a dumpster. "You're going down, pipsqueak." Trent growled, picking up a dustbin lid by his feet.

My eyes widened as he took aim and launched the lid at me like a Frisbee. I quickly moved out of the way, but in the wrong direction as I bumped against the wall, which surprised me. Unarmed, Trent grabbed a nearby brick and hurled it at me. If I had moved a second earlier, it would've missed me completely, but it only just caught my face, and I felt the corner of the brick scratch my left cheek as it flew. The slice in my cheek was fine for a moment, but it soon reddened, and I could feel a warm, stickiness trickling down my face.

'_That isn't good._'

I ran for Trent, who had been distracted by Bucky, as he'd come out of hiding when I was hit to try and help me. Bucky was feebly punching him, so I came up to his side and aimed a kick to the back of his knees. Trent fell forward onto his knees, and I quickly changed feet so I could throw another kick into his stomach. He doubled over and lay groaning. "He won't be getting up soon." Bucky said victoriously. Jimmy had finished with Troy, and tossed the second broken bat aside before quickly opening the garage door for Bucky. The boy was in and out rather fast as he collected what he needed.

We made our way for the exit, but it seemed Jimmy hadn't done as good a job as he thought on Troy, as he was back on his feet, and with another bully, Ethan at his side. Ethan had gotten hold of a wooden bat too, and Jimmy charged forward, kissing the boy with his forehead at high speed and stealing the weapon. I quickly grabbed Bucky and made our way for the gate while Jimmy took on both Ethan and Troy. We found the gate shut, and I tried to open it, but I wasn't strong enough, even with Bucky's help.

Jimmy meanwhile was dealing with the two bullies. Troy was soon down for good after a couple whacks from the bat, and he was instantly dealing with Ethan. In a final endeavour, I put my foot against the gate and almost threw out my back trying to get it open. However, the effort only caused the flow of blood from my cheek to increase twofold. Letting out a sigh, I turned to Jimmy to find him with Ethan on his knees in front of him and spat in his eye, making him finally keel over.

The adrenaline from being involved in an actual fight must've kept it at bay, as now my cheek was engulfed in a burning sensation. As Jimmy tried the gate, I put my fingers to the cut, making it sting. I could feel the blood on my face, but I didn't want to freak out about it, so I tried to remain calm.

Jimmy was struggling with the gate, but suddenly there was a banging from the other side, along with a yell of 'Dammit, kids, keep it down!' in a gritty voice. The gate then flew open to reveal the hobo who lived behind the bus. He glared at the three of us before spitting on the ground, and walking back towards the bus.

Bucky let out a sigh of relief and turned Jimmy and I. "Thanks for saving me, you guys." He walked over to where a skateboard was propped against a walk, picked it up and handed it to Jimmy. "Here, have this." Jimmy looked glad about his new acquisition as he looked at it in his hands. Bucky looked to me with a sympathetic smile. "I don't have another now, but I can get you one if you want?" I waved my hands, smiling.

"No, no, it's okay, you don't need to give me anything." I said, not particularly fussed about being given something in return for helping. He thanked us both again before heading off. Jimmy and I began to make our way back to the boy's dorm, and not a moment too soon, as I was starting to feel woozy and the left side of my face was feeling numb.

"Whoa, there." I heard Jimmy say, as he pulled me upright. I hadn't even notice that I'd begun to fall. He pulled my arm over his shoulders and put his own around my waist. "Nurse McRae is about as much use as a marzipan dildo. There'll be a first aid kit in the dorm, now c'mon." His voice had lost the roughness, the bite to it, and had taken on a much kinder tone. I'm sure I would've nodded in response, but I was currently in no position to argue, so I let him keep guiding me back to the dorm.

I was soon sat down on my bed, back against the wall to keep me upright. Alone in the room, I took a moment to look down at myself, and saw that my shirt and vest were going to need several washes if I were going to get all the blood out. The door opened, and I felt something move nearby, so I slowly lifted my head up to see Jimmy sat close by, searching through a green box that I assumed was the first aid kit.

After a minute of scattering antihistamines, epi-pens and anti-septic wipes, Jimmy was able to find a suitable dressing. In a practiced motion, he swiftly peeled the backing from the plaster and applied it to my cheek. "Be more careful next time." He said, almost softly. His thumb lingered on my cheek as he smoothed the plaster against my skin. "It's your best asset." He gave my cheek a light slap before picking a bottle out of the kit. It rattled as he shook it, and he poured a pair of white tablets out of it into my hand. "Take these." He put a can in my other hand, and I did as I was told, taking a swig from the can.

He took the drink away from me and set it on the bedside table. The plumbing rattled as I slumped heavily back against the headboard. I felt like falling asleep right there, but Jimmy wasn't having any of it. "You can't just lie there in blood-soaked clothes." He said, crossing his arms.

I shot him what I thought was a languorous look. "So take them off." Jimmy sighed, and I imagined he would be rolling his eyes if I had mine open to see. I felt something moving again, as Jimmy's hands were on me, pulling me to sit up once more. With me leant against him, Jimmy's hands reached for the bottom of the vest, and pulled it up over my head.

He set the vest aside and began unbuttoning my shirt. "You've got spares, right?" he asked, and I mumbled a yes. I sucked in a sharp breath as the cool air hit my chest, Jimmy pushing my shirt down my arms and off completely. He gently, but firmly planted a hand on my chest and pushed me back to lie down. Our eyes met for a moment, and even in my dazed state, I could've sworn I saw a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. As I felt my back touch down, I reached for the covers and pulled them over me, not even noticing Jimmy leaving with my clothes.

The next morning, when I eventually awoke, I found Pete standing close by my bed, looking down worriedly at me. The sigh of relief was the loudest I'd heard as he saw me move, and I very slowly pushed myself to sit up. "You've not moved since Jimmy let you sleep yesterday afternoon." He said, sitting at the edge of my bed.

I rubbed at my eyes, feeling the accumulated crust that comes with sleeping crumble away. I also felt something foreign on my cheek, and applied the slightest pressure to it, causing my face to ache. I remembered the previous afternoon's events, and decided I wouldn't touch it again soon. "And when was that?" I groaned, pulling the covers tight around me to fight off the cold.

"Around half five, I think." Pete guessed, and I turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It's digital display reading 08:22. I had been asleep for almost 15 hours. That was far too long, and I could feel it settled inside me as I stretched out my arms. I swung my legs out from the bed, not caring I was still in yesterday's trousers, and slowly stood up. Pete gave me a wary look, as if I were about to fall over, but I groggily made my way over to the wardrobe to get dressed.

I may have put my vest on backwards, but that is beside the point. Pete told me and I changed it before I left for class anyway. The second I left, I was getting jokes about what had happened to my face, and I was just as eager to know. It was going to be a _fun_ time while that healed and I could inspect the damage. But the thought left my head as the bell rang, and I quickly dashed off. Dr. Watts would not be happy if I were late.

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**29.05.13 - **And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Chapter 6. Much longer than my average chapter, I assure you, but to fit in all the game's details, as well as altering things to involve Daniel and then the repercussions of his actions really beefs up a chapter if I'm trying to follow a specific mission.

Anywhore, I really hope you like this one.

I'm not going to give a date for the next chapter upload (I'd only forget it anyway), but I will tell you that Chapter 7 has been started and is probably about half done. That, and Chapter 8 will be focussing on Halloween, and something of my own design to fit in with Halloween. When it's done, I think you might like it.

Until next time,

~RyRy


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